Thumbs High For Narcan, Trans Laws

Thumbs up to legislation that will curb overdoses, revenge porn, upskirting

Thumbs up to the passage of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's legislation allowing pharmacists to prescribe Narcan, also known as naxolone, an antidote to overdoses from heroin and prescription painkillers. This should save lives, if the state doesn't make the certification process for pharmacists needlessly onerous. Narcan is safe, inexpensive, as easy to administer as an epi-pen and nonaddictive. There were 558 accidental drug overdose deaths reported last year in Connecticut, with heroin involved in 58 percent of them. The death total was an 86 percent jump from 2012, according to the Day of New London.

Thumbs up to the passage of legislation making it easier for transgender people to change their sex designation on birth certificates. No longer will they have to undergo gender surgery first. The criteria now include "hormonal or other treatment appropriate to the individual."

Thumbs up to the legislature's approval of a ban on "upskirting" (taking photos of a woman under her skirt). Thumbs up as well to the passage of legislation criminalizing revenge porn — circulating intimate pictures and videos to hurt or intimidate.